Northridge Education Protest Nets Arrests

Protests against state education-budget cutbacks turned unruly near Cal State Northridge Thursday night as as man as 600 demonstrators blocked traffic on Reseda Boulevard near Nordhoff Street, prompting authorities to arrest one professor and six students.

University spokesman Vance Peterson confirmed the arrests. KCAL9 reported that the street was blocked nearly all day until police moved in shortly after sundown to clear the roadway. In Northern California, four people attempting to block traffic near UC Santa Cruz were reportedly struck by vehicles.

If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters.

SHOW ME HOW

Newsletters

SUCCESS!

You have successfully signed up for your selected newsletter(s) - please keep an eye on your mailbox, we're movin' in!

Otherwise the protests in Los Angeles -- including demonstrations at elementary schools, state buildings and other universities -- were peaceful.

Demonstrators decried a state budget they said could trim $2.5 billion from education spending. Already UC students are facing $10,000 a year in tuition and fees. K-12 systems such as the Los Angeles Unified School District are also looking at deep personnel cuts.

Dennis Romero is an L.A. Weekly staff writer. He formerly worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Los Angeles Times, where he participated in Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the L.A. riots. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone online, the Guardian and, as a young stringer, the New York Times.